From Shelley Esaak,
Your Guide to Art History.
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Definition:

(noun) - "Watercolor" has several meanings. First, it means a pigment that, when used with water as a medium, creates a type of paint. Watercolor paint is transparent, and the white of the ground (paper) underneath provides light that shines through the painting.

Secondly, a watercolor is the name of a painting created with watercolors.

Finally, watercolor (specifically: to watercolor) is the art of painting with watercolors.

Pronunciation: water cull·er

Alternate Spellings: watercolour

Examples: "Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all." -Stanley Horowitz